BORO could be on the brink of something big - if they continue to believe in themselves.

Gareth Southgate’s bold claims that Anfield would hold no fears for his players proved true.

But the manner in which Boro had potential victory agonisingly snatched away from them in the final hectic 10 minutes left the whole team with their chins on the ground.

Southgate must lift everybody quickly because there were genuine signs at Anfield that Boro now have the qualities needed to rise to the next step of the ladder.

Not only did they thoroughly deserve to be leading Liverpool when Mido executed a clinical finish in 70 minutes, but they could even have been more goals in front.

Maybe Boro did not help themselves in the way in which they gradually began to drop deeper in the battle to hang on to their precious advantage.

Maybe it was fatigue which led to them coming under extremely heavy pressure in the dying minutes.

But if Southgate can deal with this problem, there’s every chance that Boro can yet shock some more of the big clubs by producing a more positive outcome.

They showed a terrific resilience in defence for most of the game, but it was the way in which they were prepared to take the game to Liverpool which was the most heart-warming aspect of the performance.

Anybody can go to Anfield to try to defend, but Boro’s ambitions went much further because they ran at Liverpool at every opportunity.

If Afonso Alves had been a little more tuned up then Boro could have made early use of some strong bursts upfield.

In the event it was the introduction of Mido on the hour mark which gave Boro that extra little bit of attacking spark which had been missing.

Mido danced past Jamie Carragher and Alvaro Arbeloa in a dramatic left-wing run within two minutes of coming on to the pitch and found Tuncay inside the box.

The Turk showed real quality in tricking Martin Skrtel, but made a hash of his shot when left with only Jose Reina to beat and scooped the ball straight into the keeper’s arms.

Eight minutes later Mido did it for himself after receiving a short pass from Jeremie Aliadiere and rifling home a superb shot - and suddenly we were dreaming of a Boro win.

You can easily get used to losing at Anfield, and maybe Liverpool’s late rally merely confirmed that the sun always shines on their backs.

But it would not have happened if Boro had continued playing their football.

In the event, as Liverpool poured all 10 outfield players forward in the last 10 minutes, Boro resorted to long punts upfield which only gave the ball back to the home side.

There was immense bad luck in Jamie Carragher’s equaliser, taking a wicked deflection off Emanuel Pogatetz, because it would not otherwise have ended up in the net.

However, Boro did not defend their lines very well in the dying seconds of injury time when Steven Gerrard hammered home the winner.

It was frustrating to see Gerrard score, because he had been played out of much of the game by the best player on the field.

Gary O’Neil’s work-rate was phenomenal. He won ball after ball and rarely wasted a pass.

O’Neil already looks settled in a central role, where he has a gritty partner in Mohamed Shawky. Again Didier Digard is forced to be patient for his first Premier League start.

Boro showed good balance throughout their side, with Aliadiere and Stewart Downing constant threats, while the whole of the back five excelled themselves.

Ross Turnbull, called into action at the last minute when Brad Jones dislocated a finger in the warm-up, made a couple of outstanding saves but had little chance with either goal.

David Wheater was again both strong and comfortable on the right, while Robert Huth recovered from a slow start to look a man mountain in the second half, with Pogatetz as hardworking as ever alongside him.

Despite this wonderful defensive effort, Boro still couldn’t come away with a result.

There’s work still to be done, but Southgate knows how close Boro are to making a major breakthrough.

His players should gain heart and strength from this brave effort, rather than lose confidence.

Key moments in the game

3min: Fernando Torres makes a strong run and sets up Dirk Kuyt for an angled shot, but Ross Turnbull makes a brilliant two-handed save.

37min: Torres breaks through the middle but David Wheater executes a terrific shot-saving tackle inside the box.

39min: Robbie Keane runs in and sets up Torres in a great position, but Emanuel Pogatetz manages to deflect the Spaniard’s shot inches wide.

62min: Mido makes a spectacular run past Jamie Carragher and Alvaro Arbeloa, crosses from the left and finds Tuncay in front of goal, and the Turk turns Martin Skrtel but shoots straight at Jose Reina with only the keeper to beat.

70min: Mido picks up a short pass from Jeremie Aliadiere and hammers a terrific shot into the bottom right-hand corner from 22 yards.

85min: Carragher hits a strong shot from the right which takes a wicked deflection off Pogatetz into the net.

90min: Turnbull makes a superb save to keep out a left-wing free-kick from Steven Gerrard.

94min: Boro make a hash of trying to clear Xabi Alonso’s cross from the right and Gerrard hammers an unstoppable shot from the left-hand side of the goal into the top right-hand corner of the net.